Impact of consumption of cooked red and black Chenopodium quinoa Willd. over blood lipids, oxidative stress, and blood glucose levels in hypertension‐induced rats

Abstract

Background and objectives Hypertension is associated with the overproduction of free radicals, generating oxidative stress, which could contribute to the lipid peroxidation, altering the blood lipid levels, and to the development of diseases such as diabetes. The aim of this work was to evaluate the bioactivity of cooked red and black quinoa over blood lipids, oxidative stress, and glucose levels in hypertension‐induced rats by the supply of the drug N (ω)‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME). Findings The consumption of red quinoa increased significantly (p < .05) the levels of high‐density lipoprotein (HDL). In addition, the quinoa consumption, regardless of the variety, not only increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase), but also reduced blood glucose levels. The total phenolic compounds and total flavonoid content were higher in red than in black quinoa, while this latter obtained better values for the total antioxidant activity. Conclusions The presence of bioactive compounds in quinoa could be responsible for its capacity to improve the HDL levels, the in vivo antioxidant activity, and the levels of fasting blood glucose in hypertension‐induced rats. Significance and novelty Findings from this study could promote the consumption of quinoa, which seems to be a good source in the development of functional foods, in order to take advantages of its bioactivities.

The functional ingredients of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and physiological effects of consuming quinoa: A review

“…The hypoglycemic effect has been later confirmed by Cisneros‐Yupanqui et al. (2020) and Al‐Qabba et al. (2020).…”

“…The antioxidant effect has also been confirmed in several in vivo studies. Animal experiments have shown that the consumption of quinoa increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px), and catalase (CAT); as well as affected antioxidant‐related biomarker, reducing levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and increased glutathione (GSH) level (Abdel‐Wahhab et al., 2021; Ahmed et al., 2020; Ali, 2019; Al‐Qabba et al., 2020; Cisneros‐Yupanqui et al., 2020; Matsuo, 2005; Mohamed et al., 2019; Saxena et al., 2017; Wahba et al., 2019). Quinoa diet intervention has been proven to help reduce oxidative stress induced by a high‐fructose diet or CCl 4 injection in rats (Al‐Qabba et al., 2020; Mohamed et al., 2019; Pasko et al., 2010; Saxena et al., 2017).…”

“…Quinoa contains fiber, 20HE, phenolic, tocopherols, protein, and bioactive peptide contents, which may contribute to its antidiabetic potential (Ayyash et al., 2018; Cisneros‐Yupanqui et al., 2020; de Oliveira Lopes et al., 2019; Hemalatha et al., 2016; J. Liu et al., 2020). Phenolic compounds from several plants have been shown to exert in vitro α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase inhibitory effect (Hemalatha et al., 2016).…”

“…Furthermore, saponins have been reported to have hypoglycemic potential (Marrelli et al., 2016; Ren et al., 2017; Singh et al., 2017). The high protein content of quinoa is also thought to help slow down the process of digestion and gastric emptying (Cisneros‐Yupanqui et al., 2020).…”

“…Many in vitro studies have also found the hypoglycemic potential of quinoa (Al‐Qabba et al., 2020; Ayyash et al., 2018; Cisneros‐Yupanqui et al., 2020; Graf et al., 2014; Hemalatha et al., 2016; Li et al., 2018; Noratto et al., 2019; Ujiroghene, Liu, Zhang, Lu, Zhang, Pang, et al., 2019). Hemalatha et al.…”